The NIH/NIGMS Center for Innovative Wound Healing Research at the University of Illinois at Chicago seeks support for its first annual symposium, entitled "Fibrosis and Scarring". This one day symposium will be held on May 16, 2008 on the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) campus. This symposium is intended to be the first in an annual series each of which will highlight a particular aspect of the wound healing process and present the latest research findings in that area. Scarring and fibrosis is a critical public health problem which affects millions of persons, and this conference seeks to explore the commonality among fibrotic processes in various tissues. Three sessions are planned which highlight emerging concepts in fibrosis and scar formation: 1) Cellular Plasticity and Cross-talk, 2) Bioengineering and Prevention of Fibrotic Responses, and 3) Fibrosis and Scar Formation in Skin. The combination of speakers and topics has been selected with the specific intention of stimulating new ideas and collaborations in the field of tissue fibrosis and scar formation. The session speakers will be asked to emphasize novel unpublished results, and significant time for discussion is included in the program. In addition to invited speakers, a poster session will give students and fellows the opportunity to present research findings and to discuss their results with other scientists and clinicians. The symposium seeks to bring together individuals and students in accordance with the mission of the NIH designated Center for Innovative Wound Healing Research as a facilitator of multidisciplinary and translational research in wound healing. Since this is the inaugural symposium of the Center, this meeting will also serve to introduce the Center and its resources to many students and professionals from other medical/research facilities in the Midwest and beyond. Participation by young scientists and underrepresented minorities will be encouraged, and scholarships to support their involvement will be offered. Support of this program will assure that the meeting will include top-level scientists. [unreadable] [unreadable] [unreadable]